A5025680175- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
- Plant Diversity and Evolution
- Plant and animal studies
- Moringa oleifera research and applications
- Tree-ring climate responses
- Forest ecology and management
- Tree Root and Stability Studies
- Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Genetic diversity and population structure
- Botanical Research and Applications
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies
- Philosophy and History of Science
- Hibiscus Plant Research Studies
- Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Cassava research and cyanide
- Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants Studies
- Plant Physiology and Cultivation Studies
- Leaf Properties and Growth Measurement
- Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis
- Economic and Environmental Valuation
- Essential Oils and Antimicrobial Activity
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
2016-2025
Rhodes University
2025
ORCID
2021
Secretaría de Salud de Jalisco
2019
Missouri Botanical Garden
1998-2009
Washington State University
1991-2006
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
1981
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
1981
Understanding how plants survive drought and cold is increasingly important as worldwide experience dieback with in moist places grow taller warming ones. Crucial plant climate adaptation are the diameters of water-transporting conduits. Sampling 537 species across zones dominated by angiosperms, we find that size unambiguously main driver conduit diameter variation. And because have wider conduits, conduits within more vulnerable to conduction-blocking embolisms, conspecifics should be than...
With data from 15 species in eight families of tropical dry forest trees, we provide evidence coordination between the stem and leaf economic spectra. Species with low-density, flexible, breakable, hydraulically efficient but cavitationally vulnerable wood shed their leaves rapidly response to drought had low mass per area content. In contrast, opposite xylem syndrome costlier more drought-resistant late season. Our results explain variation timing shedding forests: selection eliminates...
Summary Variation in angiosperm vessel diameter is of major functional significance. In the light recent models predicting optimal taper given resistance imposed by conductive path length, we tested prediction that plant size should predict diameter, with dryland plants having narrower vessels for their stem sizes. We assembled a comparative dataset including and measurements from 237 species over 40 orders across wide range habits habitats. Stem predicted self‐supporting (slope 0.36, 95% CI...
See also the Commentary by Dick and Pennington
Parenchyma represents a critically important living tissue in the sapwood of secondary xylem woody angiosperms. Considering various interactions between parenchyma and water transporting vessels, we hypothesize structure-function relationship both cell types. Through generalized additive mixed model approach based on 2,332 angiosperm species derived from literature, explored proportion spatial distribution ray axial vessel size, while controlling for maximum plant height range climatic...
Summary Understanding how floral traits affect reproduction is key for understanding genetic diversity, speciation, and trait evolution in the face of global changes pollinator decline. However, there has not yet been a unified framework to characterize major trade‐offs axes variation. Here, we propose development economics spectrum (FES) that incorporates multiple pathways by which can be shaped agents selection acting on flower functions. For example, while pollinator‐mediated considered...
The moringa tree Moringa oleifera is a fast-growing, drought-resistant cultivated across the lowland dry tropics worldwide for its nutritious leaves. Despite reputation, there has been no systematic survey of variation in leaf nutritional quality M. grown worldwide, or other species genus. To guide informed use moringa, we surveyed protein, macro-, and micro- nutrients 67 common garden samples 12 taxa, including 23 oleifera. oleifera, concanensis, stenopetala, an concanensis X hybrid,...
Summary The best explanations of the relationship between organismal form and function-those regarded by scientists as most solid — always account for both comparative, across-species, patterns, well experimental results. This is true in all biology, it study xylem structure-function relations, where there still a need physiology functional comparative wood anatomy to mutually complement each other. To illustrate magnitude urgency this need, we discuss Sherwin Carlquist’s postulate link...
Abstract The Old World dry tropical family Moringaceae is remarkable for the great diversity of habit and floral morphology found within its only genus, Moringa. To infer phylogenetic relationships all 13 species, parsimony analyses morphological data DNA sequences from a low-copy nuclear region (PEPC), chloroplast (trnG), tandemly-repeated present in high copy number (ITS) were conducted each set separately combined. Characters studies ontogeny substantially enhanced resolution set....
En zonas tropicales secas, el árbol de la moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) es objeto gran atención porparte los productores, en tanto que crece número proveedores promueven planta como panacea. Anteesta situación, necesario separar usos están identificados y fundamentados por conocimiento científicode aquellos no lo están. Con base presente estudio literatura, se presenta un resumen las basescientíficas sustentan algunos beneficios moringa, medida hasta hoy conoce. Losanálisis comprueban...
Abstract Increases in drought‐induced tree mortality are being observed tropical rain forests worldwide and also likely to affect the geographical distribution of vegetation. However, mechanisms underlying drought vulnerability environmental species have been little studied. We measured xylem embolism ( P 50 ) 13 woody endemic New Caledonia with different conduit morphologies. examined relation between , along other leaf functional traits, a range habitat variables. Selected had values...
Abstract Glucosinolates (GS) are metabolized to isothiocyanates that may enhance human healthspan by protecting against a variety of chronic diseases. Moringa oleifera , the drumstick tree, produces unique GS but little is known about variation within M . and even less in 12 other species, some which very rare. We assess leaf, seed, stem, leaf gland exudate content 13 species. describe 2 previously unidentified as major components 6 reporting on presence simple alkyl 4 dominant longituba...
Abstract Flowering plants predominantly conduct water in tubes known as vessels, with vessel diameter playing a crucial role plant adaptation to climate and reactions change. The importance of vessels makes it essential understand how why diameter, height, other ecological factors are interrelated. Although shoot length is by far the main driver variation mean across angiosperms, much remains be understood regarding accounting for abundant around y ‐axis plots species against length. Here,...
Abstract Non‐structural carbohydrates (NSC) are crucial for forest resilience, but little is known regarding the role of bark in NSC storage. However, bark's abundance woody stems and its large living fraction make it potentially key We quantified total NSC, soluble sugar (SS) starch concentrations most region (inner bark, IB), sapwood twigs, trunks roots 45 species from three contrasting tropical climates spanning global extremes diversity wide phylogenetic diversity. were similar (total...
Significance For most of its path through plant bodies, water moves in conduits the wood. Plant conduction is crucial for Earth’s biogeochemical cycles, making it important to understand how natural selection shapes conduit diameters along entire lengths stems. Can mathematical modeling and global sampling explain wood ought widen from tip a trunk base? This question evolutionarily because xylem should way that keeps supply constant leaves as grows taller. Moreover, act on economy...
Global climate change-induced droughts are provoking events of forest mortality worldwide, with loss tree biomass and consequent ecosystem services. Ameliorating the effects drought requires understanding causes mortality, failure hydraulic system being an important contributor. Comparative anatomical data strongly suggest that, all else equal, wider conduits more vulnerable to drought-induced embolism than narrow ones. However, physiology experiments do not provide consistent support for...
The 5S rRNA gene of the soybean Glycine max (L.) Merr. has been cloned on a 556-bp fragment DNA and sequenced. This contains two copies rDNA sequence, one intact truncated, separated by noncoding DNA. We have used this clone to investigate organization genes within genome extent their methylation. Our results demonstrate that are clustered, organized into tandem repeats 330 bp, extensively methylated. Hybridization sequence Southern transfers digested with BamHI reveals striking ladderlike...
Four life forms (habits) are identified in the 13 species of Moringa (bottle trees, sarcorhizal slender and tuberous shrubs) which examined for wood anatomical correlations with habit, ecology, systematics. Wood anatomy is similar within habit classes except trees. The four bottle tree M. arborea (one trees) characterized by bands confluent paratracheal parenchyma alternating libriform fibres, some may be parenchyma-like. other tree, ruspoliana, parenchyma-like long, fibres. Root secondary...